Reinstated Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has taken over the historic Kano Emir’s Palace in the wee hours of Saturday.
Emir Sanusi II was earlier on Friday presented with a letter of appointment by Kano State governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, following the dissolution of the five Emirate Councils in the State and restoration of Kano Emirate to its pre-2019 status before it was divided into five different domains.
Emir Sanusi II was accompanied by the State’s deputy governor, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam, and other government officials to enter the palace around 1.30am.
The development is said to preempt an alleged plan by the deposed Emir Aminu Ado Bayero to return to the palace.
The deposed Emir Bayero was conspicuously out of town when the Kano State House of Assembly and the State Government were determining his fate.
Bayero was initially appointed the Emir of Bichi Emirate in 2019 following the creation of new emirates and later appointed the 15th Emir of Kano, a position he had held since the controversial deposition of Sanusi II by former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in 2020.
However, incumbent Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf announced Sanusi II’s reinstatement as the Emir of Kano after signing a new Kano Emirate Council Bill into law at the Government House on Thursday. The move effectively reversed Ganduje’s decisions, and restored Sanusi II to his former position as the sole Emir in the State.
Although Bayero was yet to publicly comment on the reinstatement of Emir Sanusi II, it was however gathered that he had returned to the Kano in the wee hours of Saturday. The governor had given Bayero and the four other deposed emirs appointed by former Governor Ganduje a 48-hour notice on Thursday to vacate their palaces and relinquish all emirate properties to the deputy governor’s office who doubles as commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs.
Emir Sanusi II’s early morning entrance into the palace, under the escort of high-ranking government officials without the traditional pomp and pageantry underscored the tense atmosphere surrounding the Kano Emirate’s leadership tussle that has captured national attention.
Emir Bayero Returns…
Meanwhile, deposed Emir Aminu Ado Bayero has returned to Kano on Saturday morning to a waiting crowd of supporters at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport Kano (MAKIA).
The aircraft, which conveyed the embattled monarch and son of 13th Emir of Kano, Late Ado Bayero, touched down at MAKIA around 4:32am.
He was immediately surrounded by his supporters, who were chanting a verse from Surah Al-Fatihah in the Holy Qur’an while some others were chanting, “God the Almighty will punish your enemies.”
The former Emir, who was fully dressed in his trademark royal regalia, did not utter a word to the crowd as he took his steps consciously away.
He later observed Subhi (dawn) prayer at the Airport before departing to an unknown destination in the city.
In the meantime, a deployment of soldiers has arrived at the mini-palace of Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero following his dethronement by Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf.
Yusuf, while signing the repealed Kano Emirates Council Law, gave the deposed Emirs 48 hours to vacate their palaces and hand them over.
The other Emirs—Alhaji Nasir Ado Bayero (Bichi), Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa (Rano), Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar II (Karaye), and Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Abdulkadir (Gaya)—complied with the directive.
While Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero returned to Kano on Saturday, it was observed that a team of soldiers moved into his palace at Nasarawa, where the 15th Emir is located, following the governor’s order.
Although security operatives accompanied Ado Bayero from the airport to the mini-palace, the reason for the additional troop deployment remains unclear.
The Deputy Governor, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, accused the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, of facilitating the return of the dethroned Emir.
Gwarzo made the accusation in a short video interview at the Emir’s palace in Gidan Rumfa on Saturday.
He alleged that the NSA released two jets to bring Ado Bayero to Kano
He said, “The National Security Adviser gave two jets to bring the dethroned emir to Kano and to bring him to the place. We have not understood their intention.”
Earlier, Yusuf ordered the immediate arrest of Ado Bayero.
Reacting to Ado Bayero’s actions, Yusuf ordered his immediate arrest, accusing him of creating tension in the state.
Yusuf, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, claimed that Ado Bayero was smuggled into Kano in an attempt to return to the palace two days after his deposition forcefully.
He said Bayero should be arrested for allegedly creating tension in the state.
The statement titled ‘Gov. Yusuf Orders Arrest of Deposed Emir of Kano Aminu Ado Bayero,’ read, “The Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has ordered the immediate arrest of the former Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, for creating tension in the state.
